About Britain

The United Kingdom is made up of four parts. It is England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Therefore, the U.K. has four parts and separate peoples. It is English, the Welsh, the Scottish and the Northern Irish. England　is the biggest and the most important part of the U.K. The capital of the U.K. is London. There is in England and also nearby there are a lot of big towns. There are many signs are written in both English and Welsh. Many people in Wales speak the ancient Welsh language still about half a million people. Now most children in Wales learning Welsh at school. Also the British national flag is Union Flag or Jack.

British has many history. When the Romans left Britain in 410, wales was subject to invasion from the Irish in the west and the AngloSaxons in the east. Then the mountains protected the Welsh from conquest. Also Wales was helped by religion. The religion was Christian. On the other hand, the religion of AngloSaxons was pagan. Several kings tried to unite the country but it were successful only short period of time. What is particularly famous was Gruffyddap Llywelyn. Edward I decided invade Wales to eliminate a potential threat to his kingdom. After an unsuccessful rebellion in the early part of the fifteenth century, the Welsh became second-class citizens. Henry VIII effectively destroyed Welsh independence by the Acts of Union in 1536 and 1543. English law was imposed on Wales and the Welsh language was rejected for official purposes. Wales became, administratively, part of England. Although the upper class looked more and more to England for culture and religion, the Welsh language lived on particularly in the chapel of the lower classes and preserved something of the Welsh culture. The history and culture of England are considerably more familiar than that of either Scotland or Wales. Most people have heard of William the Conqueror and the invasion of England by the Normans from France the Norman Conquest.  Many people awares of Henry VIII and the fact that he had six wives.  When Elizabeth I with England’ domination of the seas gave her the victory over the Spanish Armada and also enabled the discovery of the New World. It was also the age of Shakespeare. Oliver Cromwell and the Great Civil War which resulted in the execution of Charles I are probably familiar. The Victorian age is famous for the expansion of the Empire in India, Canada, Africa and Australia closely followed by the Edwardian age and the First World War. The Battle of Britain and the victory in the Second World War with the towering figure of Winston Churchill are familiar. Those days there were spreading fog. It is not only pollution. In the fact it was not fog and it was smoke.

Celts conquered several waves from 500 BC for the native people. The native people who occupied the north of the country were referred to the Romans called Picts. It means painted men because it is from their bodies. They built a stone wall with forts every mile as a defence against these people when the Romans retreated to the south. This is as Hadrian's Wall when the Emperor Hadrian was king. Another Celtic race named the Scotland. It talled for the Scots. They united the Scot Kenneth MacAlpine. He was the real King of Scotland.The Scots came under pressure from the English after the Norman Conquest. Edward I of England set out to try and subjugate the Scots and thus began a period of intermittent wars of independence between England and Scotland. Independence was recognized in 1328 some years after the defeat of the English invaders at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. The Stuart line took over the throne of Scotland in 1424 ruled for more than 200 years. In 1603 James VI of Scotland, son of Mary Queen of Scots, acceded to throne of England and became James I of England. However, England and Scotland remained separate countries with their own governments. However Scottish armies were defeated by Cromwell and Scotland became part of the Commonwealth. The deposition of James II twenty-eight years after the Restoration of the monarchy in England and the accession of William and Mary gave Scotland political independence again. This lasted until 1707 when, under economic pressure from England, a Treaty of Union was signed whereby Scotland became united with England.Two further attempts to restore the Stuart monarchy in 1715 and 1745 ended in failure. The latter rising was led by the romantic figure of Bonnie Prince Charlie, grandson of James II. His army was defeated at Culloden in 1746. This resulted in considerable changes to the economic and social life of the country and undermined its independence. Among the effects of this were the notorious "Clearances" whereby the people of the Highlands were evicted from their homes by wealthy landowners and forced to live in extreme poverty.

The pub has always been at the center of British life, because it is not just a place to get a drink, but a place to meet other members of the community. Recently the pub have widened the service. For example many pubs especially in beautiful parts of the country, offer accommodation to holiday maker but it is in the provision of food that pubs has changed most. Almost all pubs now provide food. Especially, lunch time is many menus. The food ranges from sandwiches to haute cuisine, depending on the style of the establishment. Moreover the food usually associated with pubs is not the expensive, fancy kind, but inexpensive and simple yet tasty dishes, which may be either hot or cold. Especially, many pubs serve dishes to warm up and fill up their customers in winter. Some examples are stews, chilli and hot pies. One favorite is shepherd’s pie, which is a baked dish of minced meat topped with a thick layer of mashed potatoes. At all times of the year pubs serves cold foods like sandwiches, cold meats and salads, and obviously. On the other hand, the range of salads gets very much bigger in the summer. Perhaps the simplest dish a pub serves is called a ploughman’s lunch. This is just bread and cheese with pickles and relishes of one’s choice. It is called a ploughman’s lunch, as bread and cheese was what ordinary country people ate in the fields when they were working. A lot of people working in factories and offices take their lunch in pubs. The price is right, the food is good and the atmosphere is friendly. There is no obligation to drink alcohol in pubs but sorts of soft drinks and coffee is available.

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